Bail connection for wire supporting devices



May 30, 1961 1.. L. JUGLE BAIL CONNECTION FOR WIRE SUPPORTING DEVICES Filed Nov. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l fzzflezz f0 2".- Zeozzard Z. Jifyle q? May 30, 1961 L. JUGLE BAIL CONNECTION FOR WIRE SUPPORTING DEVICES Filed Nov. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f2? Z/zz for.

Zeozzard A. -55

BAIL CONNECTION FOR WIRE SUPPORTING DEVICES Leonard L. Jugle, Elmhurst, 111., assignor to Reliabie Electric Company, Franklin Park, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 3, 1958, Ser. No. 771,491

6 Claims. (Cl. 287-83) The invention relates to improvements in wire supporting devices of the type known as cable clamps, service clamps, or dead ends, as generally described and illustrated in Iugle Patent No. 2,781,212 granted February 12, 1957.

That prior patent discloses a construction by means of which a hard wire bail can be associated with the web portion of a wire gripping device in such a manner that one of the legs of the hard wire bail can be detached from the web portion in order to hook the bail over a suitable supporting member. The particular construction disclosed therein provides an eflicient means for transmitting the stress between the are gripping device and the bail, thus avoiding certain bending stresses which are present in other types of wire supporting devices. This particular arrangement is particularly well adapted for use in wedge type service clamps.

The present invention relates to a similar arrangement but one in which an improved connection is provided between the bail and the web portion associated with the wire gripping device.

In this type of device, the arrangement is such that the detachable leg cannot be disengaged unless the bail is pivotally moved a substantial distance out of the straight line position. Due to the tension on the line this pivotal movement will not ordinarily occur, and therefore the detachable leg is securely interlocked with the web portion. However, during the installation of a line it sometimes happens that the absence of tension permits a relative pivotal movement between the wire gripping device and the bail such that the detachable leg becomes disengaged.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved bail connection in which the possibility of inadvertent disengagement under the above mentioned conditions is avoided.

According to the present invention, a pivoted connection is provided between both of the two bail legs and the web portion, and the diiference in the length of the legs is utilized to stress the bail as it is moved out of the straight line position, in such a manner that, in spite of the inherent resilience of the hard wire bail, the bent over end of the longer leg Will not inadvertently spring out of the aperture in the web portion with which it is normally engaged.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved interlocking action between the bent over end of the detachable bail leg and the web portion.

In this connection, the bent over end of the longer leg is received within a slot, and the bent over end is provided with a type of head which will pass through the slot only when the parts are disposed in a particular angular relation other than the straight line relationship which prevails during normal operation conditions.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

2,986,418 Patented May 30, 1961 Fig. l is an elevation of a service clamp embodying a preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, similar to Fig. 1 'but showing the parts in a changed position, and taken along line 44 of Fig. 4a;

Fig. 4a is a vertical section taken along the lines 4a 4a of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the wedge and web;

Fig. 6 is an elevation partly in section showing a modified form of my invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan section taken along line 7-7 of Fig.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken along line 8& of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken along line 99 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is an elevation of my invention as applied to a cartridge type of wire gripping device; and

Fig. 11 is a left end view thereof.

With reference now to Figs. 1 to 5, the wire supporting device illustrated is of the type known as a wedge type service clamp. It comprises three separate parts, a shell 10, a cooperating wedge 11, and a hard wire bail 16. A hard wire bail is resilient. A web 12 is connected to the wedge 11 by a neck 26 and may desirably be formed integrally therewith by suitable stamping and folding operations, the exact configuration being shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5.

As shown in Figs. 1 andz3, the shell is generally U- shaped in cross section, and is provided at its upper ends with flanges 13 'for engaging the upwardly facing edges 27 of the wedge. The flanges 13 may be turned down to overlap the edges 27.

The wedge 11 is preferably formed with a concave gripping surface 14 which assists in maintaining the wire 28 in a centered position, and which provides a greater gripping area. The shell 10 is desirably provided with a plurality of serrations (not shown) formed therein to enhance the gripping action.

In operation, the shell and the wedge are disposed, in longitudinally offset positions, on the opposite sides of the wire 28. Then they are telescoped together into gripping relationship with the wire. The arrangement is such that the tension of the wire tends to draw the shell in one direction, and tension of the web tends to draw the wedge in the opposite direction, thereby causing the wire to be tightly gripped.

Attached to the web 12 is a bail 16 having a first leg 17 and a second leg 18, the first leg being shorter than'the second. The legs are connected by a connecting portion 19 which is pre-formed in a loop, the diameter of which, in a hard wire type of bail is designed generally to conform with the shape of the surface of the supporting element through which the bail is threaded.

The first leg is provided with a bent end 28 and the second leg with a bent end 21. These bent ends are disposed generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the dead end and to the legs of the bail. The bent end 20 is provided with an enlarged portion or circular head 22, and the bent end 21 is provided with a slabbed head 23.

The web 12 is provided with two slots 24 and 25 which are parallel to each other and oriented rearwardly and downwardly at about 45 to the longitudinal axis of the device. The dimensions of the slots are such that the slabbed head 23 will pass through either one of them when the parts are brought into proper angular alinement.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bent end 20 of the shorter leg 17 extends into the slot 24 and is retained thera alzv. thasira arhe d 2, t ia e r of h is greater than the width of the slot 24. The bent end 21 of the longer leg extends into the slot 25 and when the bailis alined with the axis of the wedge 11, as shown in Fig." 1, the major axis of the slab head 23 is disposed at about 90 to the major axis of the slot 25. Thus, the slab head 23 interlocks with the edges of the slot 25 and maintains the bent end 21 in the slot.

In order to disengage the longer leg 18 from the web 12, the bail 16 is swung upwardly through 90 thus bringing the major axes of the slabbedhead 23 and the slot 25 into alinement with each other. Then the slabbed head 23 can be moved through the slot 25 to disengage the leg 18.

I The fact that the opening 24 is also in the form of a slot permits the bail 16 to be removed from the web in its entirety, this being aceomplished by moving the entire length of the bail 16 through the slot 24, until the slabbed head 23 is adjacent the slot 24, and then the parts may be rotated until such time that the slabbed head can be passed through the slot 24.

A feature of the present invention is the fact that movement of the bail into the 90 position is not in itself sufficient to cause disengagement of the detachable leg 18. Since the leg 18 is longer than the leg 17, as is evident from Fig. 2, when the bail is moved into its 96 position, as shown in Fig. 4, the bent end 21 tends to ride downwardly to the bottom of the slot 25, whereas the bent end 20 of the leg 18 tends to ride to the top of the slot 24. In other words, the stress of the bail tends to cause the bent ends 20 and 21 to move in opposite directions. When the parts are in this Fig. 4 position, it will be observed from Fig. 40: that the lower portion of the slabbed head 23 extends downwardly and rearwardly beyond the bottom of the slot 25 with the result that the bent end 21 will not snap out of the slot 25. In order to disengage the parts, the bail end 21 must be moved into the middle of the slot against the stress of the bail, in order to disengage the parts. In other words, the particular arrangement provides what may be termed as a half head engagement even when the parts are moved into the angular position in which the major axes of the slabbed head and slot are alined.

This half head engagement prevents inadvertent disengagement of the detachable leg due to slack in the line, as during installation.

.By orienting the slots downwardly and rearwardly, an improved transmission of force is provided. In other words, the tension on the cable tends to cause the bent ends to earn downwardly in their respective slots as shown iniFig. 1 to reduce the bending moment about the narrowest portion of the neck 26. By virtue of this arrangement, the present design has been found to be satisfactory for'heavier loads than those which can be accommodated by the construction of my aforementioned earlier patent.

A modified form of my invention is shown in Figs. 6-9 which also shows a service type clamp having a shell 30, a wedge 31 and a bail 36. In this embodiment, the web 32 is disposed in a generally horizontal plane and hence constitutes an extension of the gripping surface 34, thus avoiding the necessity of providing a specially shaped neck portion as in the embodiment of Figs. l-5.

The shell 30 is provided with flanges 33 which engage the upper edges of the wedge 31. Also, the shell may be provided with suitable serrations 35 which are engaged end42 whichpasses through a transversely oriented slot 44 in the web, and terminates in a slabbed head 43. The major axis of the slabbed head, when the parts are in the operative position shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is to the major axis of the slot 44; therefore in order to disengage the parts, the bail must be swung in a horizontal plane through 90.

In this embodiment, the web 32 is transversely curved as shown in Fig. 9 with the result that the portion 45 of the shorter leg 37 tends to be maintained in the alined position shown in Fig. 7 by the camming action of the downwardly disposed edge portions 46 of the transversely curved web 32. Thus, the arrangement tends to resist rotation of the bail 36 into its 90 position during the conditions encountered in installation, although the desired motion of the parts can readily be obtained by a moderate degree of manual pressure.

According to the arrangement of Figs. 6-9, after the tail 41 and bent end 40 have been inserted into the circular hole provided for them in the web 32, the tail 41 is slightly flattened or staked as indicated at 47 to prevent disengagement of the shorter leg 37 from the web 32. a

i The present invention may also be applied to a cartridge type of wire gripping device as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Here, the wire is gripped by a cartridge 50, and the cartridge '50 is supported in a yoke 51 which includes a cylindrical portion 52, a neck portion 53, and a web portion 54. The web portion is provided with parallel 45 oriented slots 55 and 56 which correspond to the slots 24 and 25 of Figs. 1-5. Since the bail cooperates with the web portion 54 in the identical manner as pointed out in connection with Figs. l-S, no bail is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. X I

The yoke 51 is formed from tubular stock thereby providing a comparatively strong structure whereof the cylindrical portion 52 will resist spreading.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the construction shown without departing from the scope of the invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim;

I. In a wire supporting device which includes a shell, a wedge portion, and a bail, said wedge portion being providedwith a web to which said bail is pivotally connected so that in normal use said bail will be aligned with the longitudinal axis of said wedge portion, means for effecting such pivotal connection which comprises in combination a pair of slots formed in said web and spaced from each other longitudinally with respect to said longtudinal axis, said slots each being oriented with their major axes at about 45 to said longitudinal axis, and said bail having bent over ends for engagement within said slots, head means secured to one of said bent over ends and interlocking with the edges of said slot in all angular positions of said bail with respect to said longitudinal axis, and a slabbed head secured to the other of said bent over ends, the major axis of said slabbed head being substantially perpendicular to the major axis of its slot'when said bail is aligned with said longitudinal axis to provide interlocking between said head and said slot, the dimensions of said slabbed head being less than the dimensions of its slot so that said slabbed head will pass through said slot when said bail is rotated through substantially 90 out of said aligned position to a position to permit disengagement of one leg of said bail with said web, the legs of said bail being biased apart so that said slabbed head will tend to spring out of its slot when said bail is rotated into said disengagement permitting position, and that leg of said bail on which said slabbed head is mounted being longer than the other leg so that the difference in the length of said legs will urge said bent over end of said longer legtoward one end 01f its slot to provide a half head engagement when said bail is disposed in said disengagement permitting position.

2. In a wire supporting device which includes a shell, a wedge portion, and a bail, said wedge portion being provided with a web to which said bail is pivotally connected for movement between an aligned position with respect to the longitudinal axis of said wedge portion and a release position which is angularly displaced therefrom, the combination of means for efiecting a detachable connection between one of the legs of said bail and said web comprising a slot formed in said web, said bail leg having a bent over end for engagement within said slot, and an elongate head secured to said bent over end, the major axis of said elongate head being disposed at an angle to the major axis of said slot when said bail is in said aligned position to provide interlocking between said head and said slot to render said device operative for normal use, the dimensions of said head being less than the dimensions of its slot so that said elongate head will pass through said slot when said bail is disposed in said release position to permit disengagement of said one leg of said bail from said web, and means spaced from said slot providing a pivoted connection between the other leg of said bail and said web, the legs of said bail being biased apart so that said elongate head will tend to spring out of said slot when said bail is rotated into said release position, said one bail leg being longer than the other so that the diiference in the length of said legs as said bail is rotated will develop a stress which resists rotation of said bail into release position.

3. A wire gripping device as claimed in claim 2 in which said web is curved transversely at a point adjacent one said leg so as to provide a concave surface adjacent same which cooperates therewith to urge said bail into said aligned position.

4. In a wire supporting device which includes a wire gripping device, and a bail, said wire gripping device being provided with a web to which said bail is pivotally connected for movement between an aligned position with respect to the longitudinal axis of said wedge portion and a release position which is angularly displaced therefrom, the combination of said bail, said web, and means for effecting a detachable connection between one of the legs of said bail and said web comprising a slot formed in said web and said bail leg having a bent over and for engagement within said slot and an elongate head secured to said bent over end, the major axis of said elongate head being substantially perpendicular to the major axis of said slot when said bail is in said aligned position to provide interlocking between said head and said slot in normal use, the dimensions of said head being less than the dimensions of its slot so that said elongate head will pass through said slot when said bail is disposed in said release position to permit disengagement of said one leg of said bail from said web, and means spaced from said slot providing a pivoted connection between the other leg of said bail and said web, the legs of said bail being biased apart so that said elongate head will tend to spring out of said slot when said bail is rotated into said release position, said one bail leg being longer than the other so that the difierence in the length of said legs as said bail is rotated will develop a stress which resists rotation of said bail into release position.

5. In a wire supporting device of the type described which includes a wire gripping device, the combination of a web portion connected to and extending rearwardly from said wire gripping device, and a hard wire bail having a first leg and a second leg, and means providing separate pivoted connections between both of said legs and said web portion, said last named means including a bent over end portion for each of said legs, an opening in said web portion for receiving the bent over end portion of said first leg, said bent over end portion being provided with a head which is larger than said opening so as to provide an interlocking action in all angular positions, and an elongate opening in said web disposed forwardly of said first mentioned opening, the bent over end portion of said second leg being received in said elongate opening, said second bent over portion being provided with an elongate head which is normally oriented in a different direction from the orientation of said elongate opening, said elongate head being of smaller dimensions than said elongate opening so that it may pass through the same when said leg is disposed in a predetermined angular relationship with respect to the axis of said web portion in order to provide a detachable connection, said head interlocking with the walls of said elongate opening when said angular relationship is otherwise, said bail legs being biased apart so that said elongate head will tend to spring out of its elongate opening when said bail is rotated into said predetermined angular position, and said second leg being longer than said first leg so that the difference in the length of said legs will, as said bail is rotated, develop a stress which resists a rotation of said bail into said predetermined angular position.

6. In a wire supporting device of the type described which includes a wire gripping device, the combination of a web portion connected to and extending rearwardly from said wire gripping device, and a hard wire bail having a first leg and a second leg, said second leg being longer than said first leg, and means providing separate pivoted connections between both of said legs and said web portion, said last named means including a bent over end portion for each of said legs, an opening in said web portion for receiving the bent over end portion of said first leg, head means for said bent over end portion interlocking with said opening action in all angular positions, and an elongate opening in said web disposed forwardly of said first mentioned opening, the bent over end portion of said second leg being received in said elongate opening, said second bent over portion being provided with an elongate head which is normally oriented in a different direction from the orientation of said elongate opening, said elongate head being of smaller dimensions than said elongate opening so that it may pass through the same when said second leg is disposed in a predetermined angular relationship with respect to the axis of said web portion in order to provide a detachable connection, said elongate head interlocking with the walls of said elongate opening when said angular relationship is otherwise, the difference in the length of said legs tending to urge said bent over end of said longer leg down toward the end of said elongate slot to provide a half head engagement when said second leg is disposed in said predetermined angular relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,457,029 Hazlett et al May 29, 1923 1,948,845 De Wright Feb. 27, 1934 2,131,171 Fotsch Sept. 27, 1938 2,781,212 Jugle Feb. 12, 1957 2,858,641 Trimble Nov. 4, 1958 

